A Hilton Head Island security consulting firm headed by Congressional hopeful state Rep. Andy Patrick has become the tenth company in Bluffton’s business incubator.

The Don Ryan Center for Innovation announced Wednesday that Advance Point Global is entering to further develop immigration and lawful employment compliance services for government entities and the private sector.

“They are working on technology to enhance and automate their manual process,” said Jordan Berliner, director of the Center, adding Patrick’s status as a Hilton Head Island representative and aspirant for Tim Scott’s vacated 1st Congressional seat didn’t bias the review process in any way.

“Like all potential innovators who approach the Center, they were judged on the merits of the concept, market for the product or service, quality of management and if they would enhance Bluffton’s economic development,” he said.

For $200 a month the public-private incubator provides business advice, office space, access to research through Clemson University and seed financing, among other services.

Reached in Columbia, Patrick, the chief executive, deferred questions to Chief Operating Officer George Baker, who said the firm is taking advantage of the new regulatory environment to narrow its focus on compliance.

“We’re refocusing our efforts and plan to utilize the resources provided by the Don Ryan Center to assist us in doing so,” he said. “One area of interest is making new contacts for obtaining seed financing for software development.”

A law that took effect January of 2012 to crack down on illegal immigration requires nearly all South Carolina employers to ensure their employees are eligible for work in the U.S. at the cost of incurring penalties.

Initially, Advance Point provided security and risk management consulting, business intelligence, emergency preparedness and other investigative or security-related services. The firm covered security for Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign, and some of Patrick’s consultants for his own bid are veterans of that campaign.